I just got a cat from my Mom through my aunt whot had to get rid of her cat. My dog has a new play pal that he absolutely loves and they get along great. The problem is my cat is approximately 5 years old and is not declawed. I've read that declawing a cat (especially an adult cat) is not the most humane thing to do. Does anyone know any alternatives that I have? The cat is really scratching up some of my furniture and I'm at a crossroads as to whether to have her declawed or not.
2007-02-19 00:06:27 · 17 answers · asked by Jeff S 4 in Pets ➔ Cats
First of all realize that cat scratching is natural..it's something they need to do. So you need to provide things for them to do it on.
Use a water spray bottle to spray the cat when ever it scratches on things like furniture, you can safety pin balloons to the areas the cat scratches as well to train him away from the furninture.
There are also plastic sleaves you can get to put over there claws...I'm not sure just how they work but I know they sell them in pet stores.
Declawing is inhumane. It will change the personality of your cat. Many declawed cats bite a lot and act weird because they know they are without their natural defense. Also, if the cat were to get out side he cannot climb a tree or defend himself from dogs.
There are many training website...go to the pet store and ask for solutions as well.
As with any training...don't expect results over night and be consistent.
2007-02-19 00:21:00 · answer #1 · answered by Misty 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The most common thing is to get cat nail/claw clippers/sheers and clip the clear tip off periodicly. They will still need to and want to scratch,.. but cats have strong personalities so I can't reccommend what will work for this cat. Some cats need a Cat Post in a certain way or a Scratching post a certain way and material,.. but some are happy with card board boxes or a scratch board. There are some scratch boards made to hang on a door and some meant to be flat on the floor. Some Grocery/Super Stores carry Cat items that might satisfy the cat,.. but I would go to a very big pet store to find something to clip cat claws.
Scratch Post start at about 20 dollars, most places like to try to sell them for 100 dollars. Since you don't have more then one cat don't concern yourself with ones over 100 unless you want one with a room high off the ground to hide from the dog or you decide a Tree is even higher. There was a Tree/Tower at all the stores like Wal-Marts and some Grocery/Super Stores for about 25 dollars recently.
2007-02-19 08:19:40 · answer #2 · answered by sailortinkitty 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
De-clawing a cat has become thought of as a bad thing but I do not agree. However, if you wish to avoid de-clawing and still save your furniture you'll have to clip the claws' sharp ends off. Careful not to clip down to the quick as it will hurt or bleed. Keep some flour nearby in case you do get a bleeder. It helps clotting.
As for de-clawing being inhumane, that seems to come from those who are often die-hard animal rights folk. While admirable, it is often not practical. The cat is asleep and feels no pain during the operation. When it wakes, it certainly has some pain and aches but it recovers quickly and is none the worse after a week or two. It will be running and playing just fine. It is, after all, no more cruel than neutering.
De-claw? I would. Neuter? I would. Both will help keep your home in one piece while still having a great pet.
Kev
2007-02-20 15:25:42 · answer #3 · answered by Hobgoblin Kev 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Its natural for cats to claw things, its what they would do in the wild. The more humane thing, to at least TRY first, is to buy or make the cat a scratching post, and everytime it goes to scratch some furniture take him/her over to the post and physically move the cats paws up and down to encourage it to do the same. it should soon learn to go to the post everytime it wants to scratch. May take a bit of patience, but animals are good at learning things like that.
Im not sure about declawing being humane, as it takes away something that is very normal to a cat (especially after having them for 5 years), seems like its more likely to be humane to the HUMANS as their furniture wont be scratched!
It may be different in the US, but here in the UK declawing is not very common, ive had cats all my life and theyve never scratched furniture because we trained them to use a scratching post. Weve got a leather sofa and theres not a scratch on it!
Good luck
2007-02-19 08:18:13 · answer #4 · answered by rebecca j 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Declawing a cat at ANY time of it's life is not a nice thing to do. Is your cat an indoor cat only? If it's not, how would it protect itself outside with no claws? Have you got a scratching post for your cat? You could add catnip to a scratching post and the cat should only use that. Buy a water pistol and spray the cat if you catch it clawing anything else. Please speak to your vet too.
2007-02-19 08:10:52 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
Cat de-clawing is perhaps one of the worst things for your kitty. It can lead to a defect called "Limp Paw".
There are many alternatives. Many vets will clip a cats nails.
You can also do it yourself. Many pet stores sell cat nail-clippers.
There cheap and easy.
Be carefull though!!!
follow these steps=
1. When you cut a cat's nail, don't go past the pink part. If you do the cat will bleed and she'll probably become terified of nail-clippers.
2.Before clipping, you should thourghly clean the paw, in cae of an accident. Litter, dirt and cuts don't blend well.
Hope that helps!
2007-02-19 08:43:01 · answer #6 · answered by theARTSlover003 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Paws have claws, please do not amputate. This statement comes from a dear friend who is a caregiver for homeless and abused animals. She suggests, as others have in their answers, regular clipping, caps, and particularly a large scratching post. I have found that using a good size limb from a tree, cut to size and attached to some plywood is just what a cat loves. Have had one of these in my house for many years and all of my furkids have clawed it instead of the furniture.
2007-02-19 08:20:57 · answer #7 · answered by shell 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
you cant just cut parts of the bodies of animals because they use them for things that anoy you .
claws are essential to cats,to escape defend hunt .climb and declawing it will seriously effect it mentally
what helps sometimes is if you give the cat a scratching board ,a piece of carpet nailed on a plank ,and let it outside often so that it can scratch trees,
or make some cute mittens for it
if you dont like cats with claws get another animal .like a frog ,or a parakeet in a cage ,
if it swears will you cut out its tongue?????
2007-02-19 08:19:16 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
You could cut your cat's claws or get it a scratching post with the same texture as your furniture. Also if you get some orange-scented spray, you could spray that on the furniture. And squirt the cat with water if you see if clawing furniture.
2007-02-19 08:14:06 · answer #9 · answered by Blackbird 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
We have two cats and we clip their claws when they get too long, (you can get little nail clippers for cats and you just nip the ends off)but most of the time their scratching pole does the job and saves my furniture.
2007-02-19 08:10:43 · answer #10 · answered by tanrob28 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋